Audiobook Review: Superman on Trail

Superman on Trial by Dirk Miggs, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Schuster narrated by full cast, 2010. 1 disc (1 hr). Published by BBC Audiobooks. Source: Audiobook Jukebox/AudioGo.

This exclusive special edition of the BBC Radio full-cast drama with never-before-heard scenes features Adam West, Jenette Kahn (President, DC Comics) and Dave Gibbons (Co-creator, "Watchmen"). This long-awaited release features Stuart Milligan as Superman, Shelley Thompson as Lois Lane, William Hootkins as Lex Luthor and Bob Sessions as The Batman and was written to celebrate Superman's 50th birthday. Accused of crimes against humanity, the Last Son of Krypton stands powerless before a court dominated by Lex Luthor - criminal genius turned Prosecutor. Has Superman really corrupted our children? Can he justify his continued interference in world affairs? Do we know the truth about his powers? Can Lois Lane defend '50 years of the Man of Steel'? Packed with spectacular sound effects and a thrilling orchestral score, mixed in cinematic Dolby Surround, this specially-extended and unedited recording can now be heard as writer/producer Dirk Maggs originally intended, remastered and with a new background sleeve note. Guest appearances include Adam West (TV's Batman), Jenette Kahn (President, DC Comics) and Dave Gibbons (DC Comics artist/Co-creator, "Watchmen").

Story:
Generally I am not the biggest fan of Clark Kent/Superman-for some reason his perfection and boy scout-ness annoys me. So I was pleasantly surprised by how much I had enjoyed listening to Superman on Trial.

Superman on Trial is definitely more of a plot driven story, rather than a character driven one. Usually I prefer my books to be an even match of plot and character action, but I thought that things went quite well the way the story was told in this one. I really enjoyed just being pulled into the story and wondering how it would end and whether or not Superman would be let off ten hook...although the way it ended was really no surprise at all.
Did I mention that a certain caped crusader makes an appearance. Just thought I'd throw that out to all the fans of his. I thought it was definitely interesting that they pulled Batman into the story, plus excited since because I like it when he pops into other characters stories.

Surprisingly enough, the characters that really stole the show were Lois Lane and Lex Luther; mainly because Superman's role actually was not all the big. He spent must of the time kinda catatonic do to a nasty trick of Luthers that kept him from speaking up on his behalf.
One of the reasons Lois Lane came across as such an interesting character in Superman on Trial is how passionately she defended him and how she believed that his presence was a benefit to mankind.
On the flip-side I enjoyed listening to Luther try and sway the judge with his smooth talking and lies that the best thing for humankind would be to send Superman to the phantom zone for eternity.
What I really liked about Superman on Trial would have to be the plot. I loved how the plot centered around whether or not Superman had committed crimes against humanity. I sight this as my favorite plot point because it does bring up an interesting question, is, Superman a help or hindrance to humanity. Not only is it an interesting question, but I liked the way the story dealt with it and how Superman was willing to be banished to the phantom zone if he was found guilty.
    If I had to name just one thing I did not like about the story, it would have to be this: why on earth was Lois Lane (reporter) standing as Superman's defence attorney???? I was extremely confused over this-and that was putting it mildly. While that did throw me off a bit, I thought it actually worked out quite well since she probably knows him better then most others.

Narration:
As for the readers of Superman on Trial I thought that did an excellent job, especially the ones for Lois Lane and Lex Luther-I really enjoyed listening to them both argue their respective points on whether or not Superman was interfering too much with the way things worked. I thought that both of their readers nailed the personalities and perfectly captured what made them tick.

The one thing I did not like about this audio book would have to be that there was a lot of back round noise-even though it played into the story- it kind of distracted me. It also did not help that when I was trying to listen to this one everyone was being loud and making it impossible to hear what was happening. I would have liked to have had the voices of those arguing in the back round tone down just a little bit. Other than that Superman on Trial was quite good.

Final Verdict: Superman on Trial very, very good. So good in fact that it has changed my opinion of Superman.
Superman on Trial earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.